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'Wins & Wicks'

I am currently working on a multimedia project - The Funemployment Diaries - documenting the trials and tribulations of twenty-somethingness, while making the most of all the fun and free-ish things London and it surrounding areas has to offer. 

Maggie John •

A Wannabe Parisian's Guide to Paris

Paris is the most visited city in the world for a reason. However, the 21st-century megalopolis is far from the rose-tinted version we see on screen. So much so in fact, people have actually reported physical and psychological symptoms, known as ‘Paris syndrome’, when they realise it’s not all drinking hot chocolate at Café de Flore, taking selfies with Mona Lisa, and strutting down the Champs-Élysées. That being said, stick a beret on me and I’ll dance in the rain: I love Paris. So, when my fri...
Maggie John •

It's a funny old thing

I’m surprised I have any readers left, having neglected you all for so many weeks. However, I’m still adjusting to my new normal, and figuring out how to balance my 9-5 and freelance work with the trials and tribulations of being a twenty-something. I don’t want to make any promises I can’t keep, so I’m not going to commit to posting at the same time every week, but I will make more effort to post on a more frequent basis. With hindsight, re-branding to Wins and Wicks with Maggie John was somewh...
Maggie John •

It's been MAYhem

As my good friend Lecsi put it, May was MAYhem, and she’s not wrong. Between starting a new job, making the most of the sunny weather, and re-entering my going out era (I can’t help being such a legend, sorry), I seriously neglected my Substack. However, as I stumbled through the front door at 6.30 on Saturday morning, at the same time as my sister was heading out for a run, I decided it was probably time to grow up. And when I say grow up, I mean write a Substack. So, here we are, and this week...
Maggie John •

A good old random rambling

I have been umming and ahhing about what to write for well over a week, and every time I’ve sat down at my desk (in my bed), I’ve hit a wall. That’s right boys and girls - I’m experiencing my first proper case of writer’s block. I’ve tried writing about being at home, being single, and why it’s actually a good thing to be “a Miranda”, to no avail. As I got into bed last night, with all the good intentions to write my journal and read my book, I realised the only way I was going to break through...
Wins and Wicks with Maggie John •

Spring is Springing

I woke up on Monday morning with a real - no pun intended - spring in my step. After a weekend basking in the sunshine, and celebrating my very first print by-line, which I will continue to milk for all it’s worth, I was positively bouncing into the new week.

So naturally, it started pouring down with icy rain the second I left my house. I’ll hold my hands up and admit, I was over-confident and after approximately three days, overdue a humbling too.

Anyway, you may have noticed that things are
Wins and Wicks with Maggie John •

Four Things

Eight years ago, like many other chainmail-possessed 14-year-olds, I thought it was necessary to share this post on Facebook:

When my Mum stumbled upon it the other morning, it’s fair to say we had a good old laugh. While part of me wanted to die with cringe, another part of me saw it as content.

A lot has changed in the last eight years, most notably my taste for tea, coffee, and green vegetables. Although the majority of my subscribers are my lovely friends whom I have badgered into subscrib
Wins and Wicks with Maggie John •

I actually don't care anymore

“I don’t care” is probably the biggest lie we tell as humans. As much as we want to convince ourselves of the fact we literally could not care less, and we’re just so unbothered we may as well be lying on a sun lounger and sipping on an Aperol Spritz, the truth is we do care. A lot.

We care about getting out of breath when we’re walking up a hill, and having hairy legs. We care about buying booze in the middle of the day or using the wrong type of their, there and they’re. We care about waiting
The Funemployment Diaries •

Trust the process

In my very first Substack, I told the story of how about a year ago, my housemates and I were sat around the table discussing our future plans, and I very confidently announced how happy I was to not be standing on the edge of the abyss.

Back in early February, I was optimistically toeing the abyss.

Two months later, I am officially staring at it.

So, I did what any other self-respecting 22-year-old would do when it all gets a bit too much, I checked Co-Star (obviously), and then I ran home t
The Funemployment Diaries •

Chanel, Chick lit and Claudia Winkleman

I have watched and re-watched Sex and the City so many times, I couldn’t give you an exact number. After several rewatches, I still don’t know how I feel about Carrie. Sometimes I love her, other times I loathe her. Yet for some reason, every time I sit at my desk at home, overlooking the green grass of Wales instead of the brownstone-lined streets of NYC, I always find myself thinking about her.

I’m not chain-smoking Marlboro Lights, and I’d be drinking an Aperol Spritz instead of a Cosmopolit
The Funemployment Diaries •

Everything I Know About Re-Reading Everything I Know About Love

It’s like the switch flipped this week, and I finally realised that I can drink my tea and eat my porridge in bed at 9.30am on a Thursday, and it does not mean I’m in my flop era, or that I’m wasting my life.

In fact, it’s the opposite. And I’m going to enjoy it.

For fear of bombarding your inbox this week, I almost held back on this Sunday’s newsletter and considered a double-whammy the following week, but I’m feeling inspired, so here we go.

On Monday evening, Lizzie and I went to a book la
The Funemployment Diaries •

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi hapus!

Good morning, and happy St David’s Day! If everything has gone to plan, this should be landing in your inbox at the same time that the fifth and final episode of Beautiful Bwyd goes live on Instagram.

So let’s all cross our fingers and our toes that everything has worked the way it’s supposed to.

In case you haven’t noticed a daffodil-clad, red-lipped Maggie overwhelming your social media in the last few days, let me set the scene.

Over the last week, I've been working on a mini-series called
The Funemployment Diaries •

Happy Monday

Happy Monday! Sorry this week’s newsletter is late, especially after all my boasting about how organised I was last time, I didn’t get around to it this week.

I did think about writing it up on Sunday morning, but I got home at 5am, so that was nothing more than optimistic.

Anyway, it works out quite well because I can announce this week’s personal project (PP) which I spent most of Thursday and Friday working on.

In the run-up to St David’s Day on 1 March, I will be sharing a Welsh recipe ev
The Funemployment Diaries •

Hello from Exeter!

Welcome back to the Funemployment Diaries, and happy Sunday!

I’m writing this from Exeter. It’s a Friday morning, I’ve done a lap of the Quay and I’m now sat in Waterstones café.

I’ve scheduled this newsletter to be sent on Sunday morning, so I really hope it all goes to plan because I have no intention of opening my laptop over the weekend.

I went back and forth about what I was going to talk about this week, the top contenders being:
• None Why you have to pay £40 or more to stand up on a t
The Funemployment Diaries •

Hot Girl Walking, Hot Girl Talking

Happy Tuesday and welcome to week two of The Funemployment Diaries.

Sorry it’s late - I spent the weekend engrossed in One Day, a 14-part TV adaptation of David Nicholl’s 2009 book, instead of writing this.

Emma (Ambika Mod) and Dexter (Leo Woodall) meet on their last day of university, and the story follows the next 20 years of their lives.

I loved the book, which I’m now planning to re-read, and the 2011 film - so it felt like high stakes. Will it live up to my expectations? Will they get i
The Funemployment Diaries •

A day in Brighton

Brighton has been on my list for a very, very long time.

As a 13-year-old Youtube aficionado, I was convinced it was the place to be - I mean Zoella lived there for God’s sake - and since then, I’ve carried a very romanticised version of the seaside resort in my head.

It may have taken almost a decade (omg!) to get there, but with no other plans and craving the seaside air, Lizzie (my sister), Lecsi (my friend), and I headed to the coast.

We got the train from Clapham Junction via East Croydo
The Funemployment Diaries •

The Funemployment Diaries

Hello! For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Maggie - a twenty-something, trying-to-be journalist and this is my very first Substack.

About a year ago, I was sat around the kitchen table with two of my housemates. We were talking about what the coming months had in store for us, and I announced how pleased I was not to be standing on the edge of the abyss.

A year later, I’m toeing the edge and that’s okay.

See, I’m not very good at having ‘nothing to do’ but instead of dreading it, I’m goin